Dispersion during the moult haulout of southern elephant seals at the Courbet Peninsula, Iles Kerguelen

We studied the dispersion of 4-year-old southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina) along a 75.5 km coastal area at the Courbet Peninsula, Iles Kerguelen, relative to their birth site when they were ashore to moult in early 1984. The seals were mostly faithful to their natal sites, but availability...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2008, Vol.31 (2), p.249-253
Main Authors: Setsaas, T. H., Bester, M. N., van Niekerk, J. H., Roux, J. P., Hofmeyr, G. J. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aquatic mammals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Coastal zone
Ecology
Elephantidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Life Sciences
Mammalia
Marine
Marine biology
Marine mammals
Microbiology
Mirounga leonina
Oceanography
Particular ecosystems
Plant Sciences
Seals
Short Note
Synecology
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Zoology
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Summary:We studied the dispersion of 4-year-old southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina) along a 75.5 km coastal area at the Courbet Peninsula, Iles Kerguelen, relative to their birth site when they were ashore to moult in early 1984. The seals were mostly faithful to their natal sites, but availability of suitable moulting habitat (e.g. wallows, vegetated areas) influenced seal dispersion. As moult progressed, the seals moved farther away from their initial moult sites and natal sites, but remained largely on the easterly beaches of the Courbet Peninsula. This behaviour would facilitate mark-recapture estimates of age and sex specific survival.
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-007-0378-8